Self-care and how it can help you

Self-care is becoming increasingly popular across the world, well, it is certainly something that is talked about more on social media. This is great news as self-care is important and spreading awareness will allow people to understand what it is and how it can benefit them, especially those that suffer from a mental illness such as anxiety and depression.

So, what is self-care? According to Oxford Languages, it is the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health, well-being, and happiness, during periods of stress.

In other words, it is the act of improving or preserving your health and your mood to encourage happiness and wellness.

It is slowly but surely becoming easier for people to talk about their feelings, and so the talk of self-care is being encouraged to help those in need of something to help increase the way they are feeling both inside and out.

There are many ways in which you can practice self-care, here are just a few of them:

Take a bath

Taking a bath can be very relaxing and you can make it even more relaxing by adding some essential oils and extra foam! A bath allows you to sit back and take a minute away from reality and bring you joy, it can also improve your sleep, relieve stress and anxiety, improve your mood, and relieve pain. So, it is a truly effective way of taking care of yourself and your body.

Other forms of aromatherapy can also be super helpful, e.g., you don't have to use a bath you can use an oil diffuser!

Treat yourself

It can be easy to neglect yourself especially with a busy lifestyle, so it is important that you are selfish occasionally and treat yourself. For example, if you’ve had a busy day at work or have finally finished studying and taking an exam, both can be draining so treating yourself to something can make it all worth it and it allows you to celebrate your hard work, bringing you increased happiness.

You could treat yourself to a new outfit, a takeaway, some chocolate or buy yourself a new book! There are so many ways you can treat yourself, just think about something that you would like and get it or do it!

Read, write, or listen

If you enjoy reading, picking up your favourite book can be a good way of taking care of yourself, as it's something you enjoy. It will allow you to relax and focus on doing something you enjoy.

You could also spend time writing a book or even poetry or journal about your feelings, sometimes putting word to paper on how you feel, whether it is through a story or a poem or even just writing about how you felt today can give you a little bit of a relief towards these feelings, kind of like transferring the feelings to paper rather than carrying them on your shoulders.

You could also listen to a podcast if you prefer this to reading or writing, there are lots of podcast that you can listen to help you with anxiety, stress, depression and so on, or if you want to bring yourself away from these issues during your self-care, then I am sure you can find a podcast on something that interests you.

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Do something that makes you feel good

This could be anything from gardening to dancing to watching your favourite TV show, if something gives you a sense of happiness keep doing this while it does.

You could even visit your family members for a social connection, this can be helpful for emotional health.

Doing something you enjoy can be helpful with reducing and managing stress.

Try a new hobby

If you are a bit stuck and unsure of what makes you happy then try out new things, something that you have a slight interest in could possibly become something you love, but you won't know unless you try!

It is important that you take time for self-care, you need to put yourself first and make it all about you sometimes. It is super important to do so as it can really improve your mood and outlook on life.